Healthy living on a not-so-healthy budget

Tag: Tips and tricks

Ah, I’ve been waiting so long to write this post and finally the day has come. There are soooo many people in this world who do not know how to purchase the perfect workout shoe for their foot type and certain fitness routine, but I don’t blame them. I mean it’s no wonder they’re so confused; there are so many options! There’s running shoes, walking shoes, tennis shoes, weight lifting shoes, training shoes, basketball shoes… and don’t even get me started on Shape Up’s whatever those are for. How is anyone ever supposed to know which shoe is the right fit for him or her?

Ok, let’s just start off by saying I don’t like the term “dieting”because healthy and happy shouldn’t be a temporary deal. In order for you to truly reach your health goals, whether it’s eating healthier, losing weight or upping your exercise, you have to change your entire lifestyle indefinitely, not just your habits for a given amount of time. This is why “diets” don’t work- they’re temporary! If you want to reach your goals and see results you have to commit to shifting your routine for the long-run. That’s not to say you can’t have a few treats here and there, because God knows we all deserve them! Living a healthy lifestyle teaches you discipline, commitment and self-respect, and the sooner you hop on this bandwagon I promise you the sooner you’ll be able to see and reach your full potential.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays because it’s one of the only times out of there where my entire family on my Mom’s side gets together. My parents and I have spent Thanksgiving in the Mainland for the past six years ever since my sister went away to college, and this year everyone met in LA. To say my weekend was perfect is an understatement; I’ve been in a post-holiday comma for the past three days and it’s starting to take a tole on my homework load. And that’s not a good combo right before finals season, let me tell you. But in honor of the holiday season and the encroaching temptations to binge on seasonal treats, I’ve decided to finally share why I’ve changed to a completely gluten-free lifestyle. I get so much flack from this new diet style of mine but before my friends and family can judge me any further during the holiday season, as promised, here’s my explanation as to why I made this change.

Now I know what you’re already thinking- another walking cliche living in SoCal who doesn’t eat gluten. What. A. Sell-out. Just please promise to hear me out on this, ok?

What is gluten and why is everyone so damn afraid of it now? I’d like to attribute this trend to the growing “health consciousness” sweeping the nation. I mean even Costco has gone all organic and everything, I did not see that one coming. All you see now is “gluten free” this and “grain free” that, but what does it all mean? Well, before you push me aside and loop me with the rest of the white girls hopping on the band wagon please hear me out. You should know me by now that I never support theories I haven’t done researched on! If I let you down at the end of this post, you can dub me a cookie-cutter want-to-be blonde Cali girl (but please don’t tell me to my face).

I’ve been an avid fruit lover since the beginning of time. My parents always made sure to incorporated some kind of fruit or vegetable with every meal while my sister and I were growing up but- plot twist! We actually loved every bite of our 4-6 daily servings. (You’re welcome, Mom and Dad) Now that I’ve turned into my crazy health freak self I’ve began to take my fruit fetish to the next level by diving into what fruits do what and which are really the best for you. Especially since I started the macro diet and realized that 80% of my diet consists of fruits… maybe not the best thing ever haha. Yes, yes fruits are great for you and all fruits bring something amazing to the table, but which ones really give you the biggest bang for your buck? My findings so far show that berries are pretty DAMN awesome and if you don’t eat a lot of them you should definitely start like, right now. Here’s the gist:

Whelp, ’tis the season to be FREEZING my butt off because I’m still not used to cold weather! (Says the Hawai‘i girl living in SoCal…) Haha I know, I know- I have no reason to complain about cold weather what-so-ever because I really don’t know what it’s like to live in a frigid winter wonderland. But still! I don’t think I could ever get used to the cold no matter how small a change it may be; I’m just a sunshine girl to the bone. The good news is this drop in temperature has got me in the warm-beverage drinking spirit more than usual. I have been clutching my hot lemon water-filled thermos this week like there’s no tomorrow scurrying to class, but tonight I was in need of something a little more sweet and spirited.

My sister so lovingly pointed out yesterday that I go through blog spurs, where I write and post a bunch and suddenly fall off the face of the planet for weeks on end. Yea, I know she’s right as much as it pains me to admit it. It’s pretty dang hard being a full-time college student and working three jobs ok?? STOP RUBBING IT IN! Haha just joking, but the reason why I haven’t been writing so much, aside from the fact that I’ve been so busy, is because I’ve been digging a lot into a different kind of diet/lifestyle that kind of contradicts some of the previous practices and posts I’ve shared. BE PREPARED: this post will be an essay.

I’m officially now seven weeks into a three-month workout series entitled the Bikini Body Workout that I started NOT to get a bikini body but to build lean muscle and strength endurance before I begin track next spring. The Bikini Body Workoutconsists of targeted and full body HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) workouts that require a lot more muscle work than my normal average run. Because of this workout change, I began to to dive deeper into diet-workout relationships and what it really takes to build the look and feel of lean muscle mass. Thus, resulting in my new craze: eating by your macros.

As much as it pains me to admit to it, I’m not the biggest fan of change. Change makes me scared, as it does to a lot of people (…right?). I have a hard time placing myself in uncomfortable situations or figurative seas I’m not 100 percent sure how to navigate on; this aspect of my personality frustrates me because sometimes I just wish I could let go without always having to have a day-by-day schedule clenched in my hands. Before every race my high school cross country coach used to say, “Ladies, you have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable!” I used to kind of despise him for saying this all the time because he wasn’t the one running three miles intensely in the hot a** sun, but with time and maturity I’ve come to realize how accurate and applicable this phrase is. Sometimes it’s ok to be uncomfortable, because then you increase your tolerance levels for various situations and evidently grow more than you probably ever thought possible. The unknown is scary, but like most scary things, change is inevitable and is all a part of life. It’s simply our job to just roll with the punches and carefully guide ourselves down the paths chance leads us on.

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I'm a happy-go-lucky runner, blogger, student and 100% health freak. This blog is dedicated to all you bright yet broke individuals who love a good deal just as much as a kale banana chia smoothie. Let's get cooking!